Indian Point-of-Sale device maker Evolute has obtained approval to connect its machines to Aadhaar — India’s vast digital identity system covering more than 1.4bn people — after securing mandatory L1 certification with the support of Norway’s NEXT Biometrics.
Aadhaar provides Indian citizens with a single verifiable digital ID used to access welfare payments, subsidies and other government-backed services.
Certification at the L1 level is a regulatory requirement for manufacturers, designed to ensure secure, accurate authentication. Evolute, which supplies devices to banks and financial service providers, worked with NEXT to pass the scheme’s technical and security benchmarks.
The companies said the development would help Evolute expand its position in India’s fast-growing digital identity and financial inclusion market.
According to NEXT, roughly 4.5m older L0-certified devices are expected to be replaced with newer L1-certified hardware over the coming years.
The certification marks the latest step in a multi-year commercial partnership between the two companies, valued at between NOK 14m and NOK 28m, under which Evolute uses NEXT’s FAP 20 fingerprint sensors.
Parag Mehta, Evolute’s Chief Executive, said integrating NEXT’s technology would “set a new benchmark of trust for secure and inclusive citizen services”, adding that the partnership was capable of accelerating innovation “for India and the world at scale”.
NEXT said it had become the only fingerprint sensor provider to support two original equipment manufacturers through the Aadhaar L1 process with its Active Thermal FAP 20 sensors, which use heat and 3D imaging, making them harder to spoof.
Marcus Laurén, NEXT’s Chief Product Officer, called the certification “a significant milestone”, saying demand for biometric authentication in India was continuing to grow.
NEXT, listed on Euronext Oslo, has shipped more than 10m fingerprint sensors over its 25-year history. Its technology is certified by Aadhaar, the US FBI, and other national identity programmes in Asia and Africa.
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